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Mutual and cooperative insurers reach more than a third of European citizens and have a market share of more than a quarter, data from the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe has revealed.

The data shows that mutuals and cooperative insurers have a 26 per cent market share and serve more than 150m citizens.

Asmo Kalpala, president of AMICE, highlighted that although the overall picture is “impressive”, in several countries the business model is not well-known or even not permitted.

He said: “This is why AMICE will continue to promote our unique member-oriented business model in insurance throughout Europe. The new regulatory framework threatens to drive small insurers out of the market due to excessive adaptation and implementation costs. And most small insurers in Europe are in fact mutuals.

“True proportionality in regulation and in supervisory practices are therefore vital to maintain diversity and flexibility in the European insurance market.”

Gregor Pozniak, secretary general at AMICE, also warned that the absolute number of mutual and cooperative insurers is “declining slowly”, largely due to the merger of small local players into larger units “without losing market share for the sector”.

He said: “In quite a few markets, we observe a growth in our market share as people turn to the mutual and cooperative business model in response to the financial crisis.”